Walking the Line
by IfLooksCouldCure
Summary: After a family holiday to Georgia went wrong, Harry finds himself coming across a group of people - survivors - they call themselves. They tell Harry about walkers, zombies. Things have changed more than anyone could comprehend, and now Harry is on the run, but this time he's running from the dead, not the living. M. Slight mentions of Dursley abuse. Some OOC.
1. Chapter 1

Rick frowned as he watched Shane fiddling with his gun. They used to be quite close they were best friends, for lack of a better term. Even while on duty, they were always there for each other. However things had changed quite significantly since then. They disagreed over the smallest of things and were treading on egg shells around each other, every time they were together there was an awkward silence and a tense moment where Rick was sure that Shane wanted to say something, but was holding back.

Even Lori was acting odd, she had started getting defensive whenever Shane spent any degree of time with Carl. She spent less and less time with Rick, and as embarrassing as it was, she was never really up to anything intimate anymore. Even when she was, she just wasn't into it, as though her thoughts were else where.

Despite everything they had been through, they were still alive, still together and most importantly, still a family. Rick stood and turned away from his friend, a small smile graced his face as he spotted his son and wife in their tent. Lori was stroking Carl's hair and speaking quietly to him. It was moments like this, when Rick could almost believe that nothing had changed.

Rick paused in thought as he heard something peculiar. What sounded like hoof beats in the distance was steadily becoming louder. By the loud echoing of metal on stone, it was a horse. Which either meant a stray was spooked by a walker, or a living person was approaching. Fast. It's hooves sounded loudly as it approached, striking the ground in a repetitive motion.

He wasn't the only one who had heard. Daryl and Shane moved to his side as he loaded his gun, Shane already armed and Daryl loading his crossbow. If it was just a stray horse, they could try catching it, Rick was vividly reminded of the red roan who had been devoured by walkers in the city. Horses were useful.

Nobody ever knew what to expect anymore, surprises were both often and rare. Often because their lives were full of surprises at every turn and rare because they'd become so natural that it was odd that anything could shock them.

The horse flew around the corner towards them, from the sheer noise of the hoof beats, Rick had expected a monster of a horse, but this thing was small. It deserved the title a pony more so than a horse. It was small, thin and scruffy. It's coat, which had perhaps once been a dappled grey, was thick with muck. The size and state of the pony wasn't a huge deal; the rider was small too. A teenager was riding the pony. It was a lose definition of riding, Rick had to admit, the boy was clinging on and wobbling like mad.

The pony flew towards them with a whinny, it's nostrils were flared and ears flat. It realised they weren't moving and had no intentions of doing so and reared, hooves striking the air lethally. The boy let out a panicked shout and clung onto the pony's mane with everything he had, it wasn't enough. He was an amateur rider against a spooked pony. He hit the ground with a dull thud.

Rick, Shane and Daryl moved forward slowly, weapons aimed and ready. The boy shifted slightly on the hot ground his face contorted in pain. Rick suspected that he'd managed to bruise a rib or two.

"What's your name?" Shane barked out.

The boy rolled over slightly, trying to catch his breath. He looked at the three men and froze, eyes glued to the barrel of the gun pointed directly into his face

"Your name!" Shane demanded, thrusting his gun to the boys temple. The boy still didn't answer.

He looked panicked; his breaths became shorter and shallower and his face lost all colour. His eyes flicked between the three men and the. Beyond them, he scoped the group rapidly.

"Look kid, if you don't tell us you name right now-"

"Lay off!" The man with the crossbow snapped. "Kid's terrified, 's in no state to talk."

"We can't afford to 'lay off', Daryl." Shane hissed. "We need to get answers and I will use force if necessary."

"You'd beat up and innocent child?" Rick questioned.

"There's no such thing as innocence anymore." Shane said. He knelt down by the panicked boy. "Your name."

"Harry." The boy gasped out. "Harry Potter, I'm sorry. I'll answer all your questions."

Daryl frowned as he heard the boy -Harry- speak. He was not american, if he wasn't mistaken, the boy sounded british.

"Age?" Shane asked coldly.

"I just turned fourteen." The boy said hoarsely.

"It's alright, Harry." Rick said, moving in front of Shane. "We aren't going to hurt you, do you think you can sit up?"

Harry sucked in a breath and rolled onto his side, with a pained grunt he managed to prop himself up using his arms. He looked at them cautiously, he missed his wand, if he had it he would have had a chance to protect himself from these people at least. The one who had been asking him all the questions still had a gun pointed in his face. He felt terrified, how many times had he faced death in his short life? It would be ironic to find that a muggle weapon killed him, not a magical monster.

"Good. My name is Rick Grimes, Harry." Rick said kneeling by the boy. "Have you been bitten or scratched?"

"Bitten? By the horse?" Harry asked frowning. "No, it didn't bite me."

Shane's face twisted into a glare. "You think that's funny?" He shouted. Harry flinched.

"No, sir." He said, he was reminded of his Uncle Vernon, except this man didn't look like a whale.

"Were you bitten?" The words were harsh and final, but Harry was confused.

"No, what are you on about?" Harry asked.

"Kid, do you have any idea what is going on at this moment?" Rick asked him.

Harry shook his head, for once in his life, he felt like the child he was meant to be. Shane swore and kicked the ground.

"Come on, come and meet everyone and we can explain. How the hell do you not know what's going on?" Ironically it was Rick who asked him this. Together Rick and Daryl helped Harry to his feet. Harry looked around, they had a little camp set up they even had an RV.

Harry found himself seated on a fold up deck chair, the eldest man who had introduced himself as 'Dale' had checked Harry's ribs for him and deduced that they were only bruised, luckily.

"So what is going on?" Harry asked. Nobody seemed to be willing to meet his eyes in that moment.

"It'll be easier if we start with you. You're not from around here are you?" Dale asked him.

"No. I'm from Surrey, in England." Harry said.

"You're quite a distance from home, what are you doing all the way out here?" A blond girl asked. "I'm Andrea." She added, as she saw his confused look.

"My Uncle had a conference over here and decided to make a holiday out of it. He couldn't find anyone to take care of me." Harry explained.

"Couldn't you stay with your parents?" Shane sneered.

"My parents died when I was one." Harry said coldly, suddenly the threatening man seemed more like a child in a sulk.

"How long have you been over here?" Rick asked.

"I don't know, something happened; to my uncle. I kind of lost track of time after that, my Aunt said... it doesn't matter." Harry said quickly.

"It's alright, Harry. Just tell us _everything, _we won't judge you." Dale said, his gaze x-raying Harry.

"My uncle wasn't the most healthy man, he was actually one of the most unhealthy men you'd ever have the displeasure of meeting." Harry snorted, before becoming more somber. "He had a heart attack, he died but- he didn't _die._"

"I know what you mean." Rick said comfortingly.

"He attacked his own son - my cousin - and began to rip him apart, with just his bare teeth." Harry said, becoming more distressed. "My Aunt shoved me in the cellar and locked the door. I couldn't get out. I tried everything, but he attacked my Aunt too."

"How did you survive, locked down there?" Andrea asked.

"It was a cellar. It was stocked with food and stuff, there was even a small camping stove." Harry said. "But it ran out pretty quickly, at least I think it did. I don't know how long I was down there."

"How'd you get out?"

"The camping stove. I burned the door down, I almost killed myself in the process but, I got out." Harry said. "I couldn't find my relatives anywhere, just a lot of blood. I went straight to the police station, it's supposed to be safe there, right?"

"No where is safe anymore." Daryl snorted.

"A policeman went for me, just like my Uncle went for my Aunt. I managed to get away, and I ran. I just kept running until I came across that bloody horse. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I'd never ridden before, but I didn't think it could be that difficult." Harry said looking amused.

"Evidently, it was." Dale said.

Harry nodded. "Now, what is going on?" He asked.

"People are dying everywhere, and once they die they come back to life." Shane said. "They turn into Walkers. One bite and you become infected, they will eat you if they get the chance. It's not pretty."

"Shane!" Dale said sharply. "There's easier ways to tell him."

"There's no time for easy, anymore." Shane spat.

"The world has ended, we have all the time we want." Daryl said.

* * *

_AN_

_I do not own Harry Potter or the Walking Dead. _

_This is set during the summer between third and fourth year and Season 1 of TWD. _


	2. Chapter 2

"Fine!" Shane spat. "Fine. Use all the time you need, but mollycoddling the kid ain't going to help anything!" He shot Harry a vaguely disgusted look and stormed off past Rick and Daryl towards the woods.

"Don't worry about him, he's been a little stressed lately." Rick said, staring after his friend.

Harry didn't mind, he had other problems to concentrate on. "What is a Walker?" he asked Rick. Somehow this seemed like a huge, elaborate joke. Perhaps it was a trick of Fred and George's or maybe he was dreaming.

"A Walker is a dead thing. It is driven by one desire and one desire only. Living flesh." Daryl said.

"So that's what my Uncle was, one of these Walker things?" Harry asked him.

"Unfortunately, you're very lucky that you got away, especially not knowing what was going on." Dale said.

"How did it start?" Harry queried.

"No one knows, it could have been one person who had the disease and spread it, or there could have been multiple people who had it," Daryl said. "It doesn't really matter know, does it? All that matters is surviving."

Harry had no reply to that, he just nodded, a lump filling his throat and making speech impossible. Rick noticed that the child was trying to hold in his emotions and decided that it may be best to change the subject.

"Well you already know me, Andrea and Dale." Rick said, "The man who left was Shane, this is Daryl. That's my wife - Lori - and my son - Carl - then we have Carol and her daughter, Sophia, that's Glenn, Jim, T-Dog, Jacqui, Morales, Miranda, Louis and Eliza. I think that's everyone."

Harry gave them a nervous smile and shifted nervously in his seat. "Have you been here long?" He asked the group.

"A fair while." Rick shrugged. "We've been considering moving on, I think the CDC is our best option but Shane thinks we should head for Fort Benning."

"CDC? Fort Benning?" Harry asked.

"The CDC is the Centre for Disease Control, last we heard they were working on a cure for this. Fort Benning is a large Army Base." Lori explained.

"The CDC sounds interesting, but if they'd found a cure, wouldn't they have started distributing it already?" Harry asked her.

"We don't know, Harry." Glenn admitted. "Truth is, no one really knows anything anymore, there _could_ be a cure, then again there might not be. But, if we don't try to find out, we're going to be wondering what if."

"I guess that makes sense." Harry conceded. "When will you all be leaving?"

"Tomorrow, probably. We can't stay here too much longer, the walkers have already attacked us once, they'll strike again if we stay." Dale said.

Harry nodded and looked away from the group, for the first time he felt safe and looked after, and he was going to lose it all as soon as they left to go and check out this centre. He hoped they'd find a cure, hell, they probably hoped they'd find a cure, but still a selfish part of him wanted them to say 'screw it' and stay with him.

"What happened to the horse I was riding?" Harry asked, if he was going to be alone he'd need transportation.

"Horse?" Daryl snorted. "That thing can barely earn the title of being a pony. Did you choose the smallest nag there was?"

"I've never ridden before, and it was that or one of those huge carriage horses." Harry sighed.

Daryl cocked his head slightly considering both. "You'd have been safer from the walkers at a height." He said.

"Not after falling off I wouldn't be." Harry retorted.

"You've never ridden before, what possessed you to choose a horse to travel on?" Dale asked.

"I can't drive, bikes felt too vulnerable and getting onto the horse was easy enough." Harry muttered.

They settled into a comfortable silence, before Harry remembered he didn't get an answer. "So what happened to it?" He asked.

"After it tossed you? Took off towards the woods, it's long gone now." Daryl said.

"Bloody hell." Harry muttered.

A ripple of laughter went around the group. Harry looked up confused.

"Sorry, we're not laughing at you, it's just you're accent sounds so different, and you say strange things a lot of the time." Andrea said.

"I guess that's because I'm not American." Harry smirked.

"You said your Uncle what at a conference. What was it for?" Lori asked.

"He was a business man, he was the director of a company called Grunnings; they made drills. He was trying to make some sort of a sale over here." Harry said.

"What were they like?" Andrea asked him.

Harry automatically became defensive and cautious. "What do you mean?"

"Your family. What was your family like?"

"The Dursleys weren't my family, just people who shared blood with me. My real family was my Godfather, friends and some other people." Harry said.

Daryl gave Harry a calculating look, and cut off Dale's next question.

"So tell us about your real family."

"My Godfather is called Sirius, he's brilliant even if I've only known him a few months. My best friends are Ron and Hermione, we've been through a lot together but they've always stood by me through everything. Ron can be prejudiced but he's still there and Hermione is really intelligent." Harry said wistfully.

"You miss them." Andrea stated.

"Of course I do. They were the first people who cared for me and for whom I cared." Harry admitted.

"Your relatives didn't care for you." Dale asked.

Harry automatically closed down and looked away. "Is there somewhere I can catch some rest? I haven't slept in days."

"Sure, you can use our tent for now." Lori said, standing up to show him the way. Daryl shot a filthy look towards Dale behind his back and sighed.

"The kid's done well to survive up until now." Morales muttered.

"He's just lucky." Shane said, reappearing at the edge of the woods.

"Maybe it just takes luck to survive nowadays." Daryl said.

"Why was he so interested in the pony?" Carol asked quietly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Daryl asked her. "He thinks we're going to leave him behind when we head for the CDC or Fort Benning."

* * *

_AN_

_I don't own TWD or HP._

_I don't know if Americans say 'bloody hell' or not, I'm British so please excuse any mistakes. _


	3. Chapter 3

"We won't do that." Carol said. "We can't, he's just a child. He's only a couple of years older than Sophia."

"Don't worry, Carol. I have no intentions of leaving anyone behind." Rick said.

"Why should we take him? It's just another mouth to feed." Shane said, his expression furious.

"You don't mean that." Lori said, returning from the tent.

"The hell I don't." Shane spat. "He's a kid, a liability. All he's going to do is cause more problems than we need."

"Is that what you think?" Rick asked him. "Would you say Carl's a liability? What about Sophia, Louis and Eliza?"

"That's not what I meant." Shane said.

"Then maybe you should think before opening your mouth next time." Carol said coldly, taking Sophia's hand and leading her away from the group.

"She has a point." Andrea said. "That wasn't fair, just because they're young, does not make them useless."

"Look, it's getting late. Let's catch some sleep and cool off a bit. We can decide where to go in the morning." Dale said, diffusing the tension. "I'll take first watch."

They all stood and headed their separate ways. Rick and Lori reached their tent seconds after Carl. Harry was sleeping on a temporary bed that had been set up. His glasses were still on his face and he was still wearing the filthy clothes that he'd arrived in.

"Quietly." Lori whispered to Carl, he nodded to his mum and tiptoed past Harry to his own camp bed.

Dale sat on the top of his RV with a gun in his hands. It was quiet, it still shocked him how quiet it was without the usual bird's chatter, sometimes he would wonder what happened the birds. Did they leave, and go somewhere safe? Or maybe they learnt to stay quiet and not draw any attention. What ever it was, it was unnerving. More so than he thought possible.

Time passed faster than he expected and Andrea appeared next to him.

"Go get some sleep, Dale. I can keep lookout." She said patting his shoulder.

"Are you sure?" He asked, she nodded. "Alright then, I'm no use if I'm dead on my feet."

"Everyone's useful, Dale. You're not taking Shane seriously, are you?" She asked. "He was just angry."

"Sometimes the most honest words are said in anger." Dale murmured into the darkness.

"Sometimes people say things they don't believe just as a way to lash out when angry." Andrea said.

"Don't defend him, Andrea. Yes, people make mistakes, but they have to take responsibility for their errors." Dale scolded.

"I'm not defending him, I'm just trying to see things from his point of view. We've just lost a load of people, he lost his defense, the people who would protect this place. We lost friends and family." Andrea sighed and shook her head. "Look, all I'm saying is he's right to be hesitant, the dead aren't the only risk anymore. Weakness and vulnerability can get us killed too."

"Everyone was weak at one point, it doesn't mean they can't survive, even in a world like this."

"A world like this is designed to kill off the weak. It's survival of the fittest for everyone." Andrea retorted.

"No, it's just survival now. The only difference between fit and unfit now is that the unfit will eat you." Dale said. "Amy was young, would you have even considered leaving her behind?"

"Don't bring Amy into this." Andrea hissed.

"I have to, if it helps you to see reason. You're not like this Andrea. Dont change." He said. "Just don't. I'll be in the RV if you see anything."

Andrea watched him leave, her brow furrowed in thought. It wasn't that she wanted the kid to die, she just didn't know if he'd make it, even with them. She had thought Amy was going to fare pretty well, but then she was attacked. All she'd done was let her guard down for minutes while she want to the bathroom.

Andrea sat deep in thought for a long time, the sky gradually got lighter and lighter. She knew she'd been irrational while talking to Dale. The boy had done not but be honest with them since he had arrived.

As usual Carol was the first to wake. Usually she would be followed by Morales but today a short, black-haired boy was the second to appear out of the tent. He smiled tentatively at Carol and moved over to help her light the fire. He was strangely efficient and he didn't complain about helping. He even went down to the quarry with Carol to help wash some of the clothes.

Gradually the others began to wake and started to mill around the camp. Harry and Carol returned a while later, just in time to eat. Lori had opened a tin of beans and started heating them over the fire.

"So, we've been talking and the CDC seems to be the best bet." Shane piped up as Lori dished out the beans, he sounded guilty and Harry wondered whether he truly agreed with the choice or if he had done something to make him feel guilty and wanted to make up for it.

Harry's stomach twisted, they would leave soon and he'd be fending for himself again, it was strange how much worse the idea seemed after being told what was going on.

"You'll be coming with us of course, Harry?" Glenn said, Harry wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement.

"You want me to come?" He asked them, everyone except Shane responded with a 'yes'. Shane just grunted and shovelled a spoonful of beans into his mouth. Harry felt a twinge of discomfort, he didn't understand why the man seemed to hate him so much.

"We'll pack everything up as soon as we've eaten, while that happens would you mind checking on Jim, Andrea?" Rick asked.

"Of course." Andrea said.

"What happened to Jim?"Harry asked.

"He got bit." Daryl stated.

"Bit? By a walker?" Harry asked. "I thought people who got bit, turned."

"They do." Daryl said. "It starts with a fever, the fever's nasty, that's what kills you. After you're dead, you come back as one of them."

"Jim's still at the fever stage." Rick said.

"It's getting worse though, he's rarely lucid enough to hold a conversation." Carol said.

"It's a shame, Jim's a good man." Shane said.

"It doesn't matter how good a man he is, he got bit. That's a death sentence on his head, whether he turns and gets a bullet through the brain or just turns and walks around for a long time." Daryl said harshly, spitting out the harsh truth.

* * *

_AN_

_I don't own TWD or HP._

_Next up the CDC. _


End file.
